April 9, 2004

Easing in.

It's Good Friday, and although I am a Godless heathen, there are still things tradition says I do today. The girls are home, so they are thrilled with the big plan. Yes darlings...Good Friday is for cleaning. Big Time. Window washing kind of cleaning. "What is that in your closet?" kind of cleaning. Taking things to goodwill, recycling, putting the snow pants in the basement kind of cleaning. Good friday/spring cleaning is an enormous purge. I never know if I'm looking forward to it or not. I mean, I hate cleaning (really Steph? Really?) but I love cleanliness and order. Despite the 43 thousand kilos of crap in my house...I have a minimalist soul. (Note: yarn is not crap, we are discussing others stuff. Mostly stuff that is not mine. Joe's collection of "High Times" magazines from the late seventies are a particular bone of contention)

The boring cardie has a back, two sleeves and a half a front.

Last night, as I was merrily working on the second sleeve, enjoying the meditative thrill of navy yarn in stockinette stitch, I was abruptly jerked from my happy place by the realization that there was only one more ball of yarn after the one I was using. It was enough to stop me mid-stitch. I don't even know what yarn this is...that's a considerable barrier to getting more. I spread out the back, the first sleeve, lay the second sleeve beside it...I'm thinking hard and looking nervous. Joe is a naturally supportive and lovely man, despite being largely fibre ignorant, so he asks what the trouble is. "I think I'm going to run out of yarn" I say, looking concerned. "You always think you are going to run out" Joe observes. "True" I say, (I can acknowledge that I have some neurotic yarn supply concerns from time to time...I'm a big person) "This time," I ponder, "I really can't get more of this navy yarn". Joe looks at me, deadly serious and says...
"Use a different navy yarn...what's the difference".
I'm so misunderstood as an artist.

This is a raglan, so the fronts shouldn't take as much as the sleeves, but that's sort or shallow comfort. I decide that since I've knit the first sleeve, I've got some idea of what a sleeve takes. What I need to know is how much a front takes. I put the second sleeve on a stitch holder and cast on for the left front. This cements the button band plan. there's no way that I'm knitting a whole sweater and then running out during a button band. No freakin' way. Not this knitter. Get yourself another dummy. I will knit the button bands as I go. I'll knit the front, then if it looks like I'm going to get another front out of the yarn then I'll go back and finish the sleeve. The finish the fronts. (Yes...I have a knack for the complex plan.) If the front looks like it will take more than I have then I'll simply....well, the plan isn't perfect.

I'm showing you the wrong side of the front, so that you may fully appreciate the glory of the button band. I decided to take some suggestions (who knew? I can be taught).
I'm knitting the band very firmly. I'm making the stitches as tight as possible on the needle, giving the yarn a good pull with each band stitch with the fond hope that this will make them a little smaller than the front stitches, thusly reducing the tendency to flare. I'm also doing the band in twisted rib to firm it up a little and assuage concerns about durability. I have no way to deal with Aubergine's "bad feelings" about stepping out of the button band box, nor any way to make him more comfortable with behaviour that may be "risky". I suppose that I could work out some kind of wool sacrifice to whatever deity is in charge of this sort of thing, suggestions? Naturally, since Aubergine is the one who is uncomfortable with the risk...we will be using his stash, so go wild.